Gunmen sent by Moscow killed the deserter who took refuge in Alicante, according to Spanish intelligence services. Publicly, the Spanish Government has been very cautious about possible authorship.
Foreign Affairs will give a forceful response if the involvement of the Russian secret services in the crime is proven. It is not the first time that envoys from Moscow have killed a dissident in Western Europe (the most famous case is that of Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with plutonium in 2006 in the United Kingdom)